Turkey’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak increased by 63 to 277 on Tuesday, its highest rise yet, while the number of confirmed cases from the disease rose by 2,148 to 15,679, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Koca said 14,396 tests had been conducted in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests carried out in Turkey to 106,799 since the outbreak began. He said Turkey would conduct 20,000-25,000 tests per day next week and then reach 30,000 tests shortly after.

Koca also said the outbreak had reached all 81 provinces in Turkey and added that 60% of cases were seen in Istanbul. Koca said that the western coastal province of Izmir and Ankara were the provinces with most cases after Istanbul.

Reuters